Shoe heel and decorative cover therefor



A ril 6, 1937. H, HUFFMAN 2,076,514

SHOE HEEL AND DECORATIVE COVER THEREFOR F iled March 25, 1954 V INVENTOR flak/Aw fla/wmlv ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 6, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHOE HEEL AND DECORATIVE COVER THEREFOR Fla.

Application March 23,

Claims.

My invention relates to heels for shoes, slippers, pumps and the like, and particularly to heels having a removable cover adapted to be easily applied and removed therefrom.

Shoes and slippers, such as dance slippers, are frequently provided with fancy or decorative heels which may be of various colors or covered with various types of material. Ordinarily such shoes are chosen for wear with a particular dress or costume so as to combine with other articles of dress to give a pleasing color effect. Thus, a

slipper or shoe having red heels is chosen for wear with a dress trimmed in red or when the wearer has red earrings, beads or other jewelry. Simil5 larly if the color scheme of the wearers costume or jewelry is green or gold the shoes wo-rn may have green or gold heels.

Heretofore in order to obtain the desired effect it has been necessary for the wearer to have one pair of shoes for each color combination worn. However, this is expensive due to the large number of pairs of shoes required and it is frequently difiicult to obtain proper matching of the colors for the ensemble. Furthermore, it is quite usual for a person to wear a dress of jewelry so seldom that they hesitate to buy a special pair of shoes which is suitable for use only on one or a very few occasions or with some particular dress even though colored heels may be necessary for completing the efie desired.

In accordance with my invention these objections to the use of colored heels on shoes are overcome and the expense of having a large 5 number of pairs of shoes, each with differently colored heels is eliminated by providing a cover for the heel which may be easily and quickly applied and removed by the individual and without the aid of tools or the exercise of mechanical 4o skill. It has been proposed heretofore to provide detachable ornaments for the heels of shoes but devices of this character are relatively small and cover only a limited portion of the heel and therefore do not give the desired effect. This is especially true when the ornament is worn with a long dress which may cover a large portion of the heel even when the wearer is walking or dancing. For this reason the use of heel ornaments does not accomplish the desired results.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide shoes having heels to which various covers may be readily applied and removed.

Another object of my invention is to provide a cover for the heel of the shoe which can b 1934, Serial No. 716,973

applied and removed by the user without employing tools.

A further object of my invention is to provide a heel and a cover therefor having means serving to prevent displacement of the cover with respect to the heel but capable of being easily interchanged.

These and other objects and features of my invention will appear from the following description thereof, in which reference is made to the accompanying figures oi the drawing illustrating preferred constructions embodying my invention.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective of a shoe having a heel thereon formed to receive a cover in accordance with my invention,

Fig. 2 is a perspective of a heel cover adapted to be applied to the form of heel shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of a heel cover of the type shown in Fig. 2,-

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view of a heel cover of the type shown in Fig. 2 when removed from the heel,

Fig. 5 is a detail view of an alternative form of retaining means with parts of the heel and cover broken away, a

Fig. 6 is a perspective of an alternative form of heel cover, and

Fig. 7 is a horizontal sectional view of the construction shown in Fig. 6,

Fig. 8 illustrates a fragment of a heel cover embodying an alternative construction in accordance with my invention.

In the form of my invention chosen for the purposes of illustration in Figs. 1 and 2 the heel 2 of the shoe is formed with a number of horizontal grooves 4 which are relatively deep and extend about the back and sides of the heel for the purpose of cooperating with the heel cover to prevent displacement thereof in a vertical direction. One or more vertical grooves 6 are I also formed in the heel for the purpose of pre. venting lateral displacement of the heel cover and to provide means serving to insure accurate positioning of the cover with respect to the heel.

That portion of the heel, adjacent the upper is formed with a channel III which tapers gradually from the rear toward the front of the shoe Within which a portion of the heel cover may extend so as to be held closely adjacent the upper to give the appearance of the usual heel as shown in Fig. 3. The channel It) at the top of the heel may be used even when employing retaining or securing means other than the grooves 4 and 6 and -on heels which are otherwise smooth so as to obtain a close flt of the cover and the upper and to prevent displacement of the cover. Heels made in accordance with my invention may be applied to shoes of any type and may be attached in the manufacture of the shoe or may be applied as substitutes for the heels originally provided.

10 The heel itself may be formed of wood, leather,

or other suitable materials and may be permanently attached to the shoes 8 in any desired manner. The number and arrangement of the grooves 4 and 6 may of course be varied as necessary or desired and will be greater in number when applied to a high heel of the French type than when applied to a relatively low heel on a sport shoe. Similarly the grooves may extend diagonally of the heel or in any other direction 0 or manner desired provided they serve the purpose of retaining the -heel cover in the desired position upon the heels.

I In Fig. 2 of the drawing I have illustrated a heel cover designed for use on the form of heel shown in Fig. 1. As shown, the cover is formed with a member 12 extending about the back and sides of the heel above the top-lift iii to replace or cover that portion of the heel which is readily seen and to which fabric or other covering material is ordinarily cemented. I

The cover may be formed of any suitable material such as metal, rubber, molded compositions or the like, and is provided on its inner surface with vertically and horizontally extending projections or ribs l8 and 20 respectively. These projections are positioned to register with and enter the grooves l and 6 in the heel to prevent displacement of the cover. The upper marginal edge of the cover may be formed with an inturned lip 22, adapted to extend into the channel l0 about the upper edge of the heel so. as to be held in contact with the shoe upper to insure a close fit and neat appearance of the heel and shoe.

With this construction the heel cover is held firmly in position and prevented from movement with reference to the heel. If desired, the cover may be made of resilient material or may be provided with inserts 24 of spring material serving to urge the projections l8 into engagement with the corresponding grooves in the heel so that the cover will be retained in place. The use of the inserts 24 is of particular value when the cover is formed of relatively light or thin material such as fabric, brocade, thin rubber and the like. When the cover is formed of resilient material its shape upon removal from the heel may be somewhat as shown in Fig. 4, with the edges 26 of the cover normally extending inwardly from the position assumed when the cover is applied to a heel. Thus when applied the pro- J'ections or ribs 8 will be continually urged into the grooves 6 so that accidental removal of the cover will not occur.

In applying the heel cover of Fig. 2 to the heel shown in Fig. ,1 it is only necessary to slip the cover into place by pressing it on to the heel from the rear until the vertical ribs l8 on the cover 70 register with the vertical grooves 6 on the heel.

The ribs then snap into place drawing the cover into close contact with the heel and holding it firmly in place. The removal of the heel cover is equally simple and requires only that the edges 75 26 of the cover be raised to disengage ribs [8 from grooves 8 so that the cover may be lifted off the heel.

In some instances it may be desirable to form the heel and cover with additional or alternative retaining means, such as the snap fasteners 6 shown in Fig. 5. In this construction retaining elements 28 are located in recesses 30 on opposite sides of the heelnear the front thereof, or at one or a number of other suitable points to hold the cover in place. The cover is then pro- 10 vided with complementary retaining elements 32 for engagement with the elements 28 carried by the heel. Any suitable form or type of retaining elements 28 and 30 may be used but as shown these are the ordinary snap fasteners such as 15 those used upon gloves and elsewhere. These may be used in combination with the grooves I and 6 or may be employed by themselves. When used alone the fastening means may of course be located in any suitable positions about the edges, 20 or elsewhere, on the heel. The use of snap fasteners or like retaining means is of particular value with fabric or flexible heel covers in that the cover need not have sufficient body or stiffness to be self sustaining. The cover, in such cases, 25 is simply stretched over the heel and held in place by the fastening means.

With either of the arrangements described above the wearer may have any number of heel covers desired, each colored or decorated diiferently and the covers may be changed at will so as to provide shoes with heels of any preferred color without the necessity of purchasing a new pair of shoes to obtain each different color eifect desired. 35

In that form of my invention shown in Figs.

6 and '7 the heel cover is formed to extend completely around the heel and across the face 34 in the front thereof. In this construction the cover I! is hollow and open at the top and bottom so 40 that it may be applied by slipping the cover over the heel from the bottom. The front face 36 of the cover may be given the color of natural leather and when applied to low heels or others provided with curved front surface the face 38 45 may be curved or formed with a concave outer surface so that it will be unnoticeable as an attachment and will have the same appearance as the original heel. The upper edge of the cover may be provided with an inturned lip 22 adapted 50 to enter the channel I0 if this is provided so as to engage snugly with the shoe upper and prevent displacement of the cover downwardly.

Heel covers having this construction may be formed entirely of comparatively soft or elastic 55 rubber or other resilient material, or they may be constructed throughout the decorated portion extending around the back and sides of the heel of metal or other material, and only the face 3 need be made of elastic material. 50

While I prefer to provide the heel with a channel NJ at the top thereof for engagement with an inturned flange on the cover even when the cover is formed of fabric or flexible material there are many instances in which it will be desirable to provide covers for heels which are not so formed and which may be of the type now ordinarily in use and applied to shoes. Heel covers constructed as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 may be applied to heels of the usual type which do not have grooves or other retaining means formed thereon and in which there is no upper channel l0. For this purpose the heel covers preferably are prevented from displacement by a thin turned lip 40 formed of metal or the like and extending into the crevice between the heel and the upper. The inturned lip may be in the form of small L-shaped members 2 or sharp pointed 5 pins 44 carried by the cover and located at suitable points near the top and bottom of the cover or elsewhere, as shown in Fig. 8, or the lip 40 may extend inwardly about the entire upper edge of the cover as shown in Fig. 6. The cover is then held in place by the members 40, 42 and 44, and when the face 38 of the cover if formed of elastic yieldable material the cover will be further held in place by the elasticity of the material extending over the front face 34 of the heel. Instead of an inturned lip a suitable binding carried by the cover may be used or any other suitable means employed for holding the cover on the heel which permits ready removal and attachment of the cover. In this way the cover is held firmly in position with respect to the heel and it is unnecessary to employ a special heel construction to obtain the advantages of my invention.

In any of the forms of my invention, when applied to heel covers, the outer surface of the cover may be given any desired color, or may be provided with a surface formed of fabric or leather, or it may be studded with rhinestones, or given other decorative surfacings. In some instances a plating of gold, silver or other metal may be used to provide the particular appearance or color sought. When formed of rubber or other elastic material the cover tends to cling closely to the heel and will fit heels of varying sizes and shapes so that it is not necessary to carry such a large variety of sizes and styles on hand to fit all types of heels and the user can attach the cover to different heels as desired.

In the forms of my invention described above,

40 the heel cover in each instance terminates above the top-lift. This construction is ordinarily to be preferred but in some cases it may be desirable to form heel covers with portions extending below the top-lift material so as to completely cover 45 the heel and serve as the wearing portion thereof.

This construction has the advantage that the tendency for the cover to be displaced is reduced.

However, such heel covers tend to increase the height and bulk of the heel and therefore are not 50 always so satisfactory.

While I have shown and described a number of possible variations in the form and construction of the elements employed in my invention for the purposes of illustration, it will be appar- 65 cut that numerous other changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. The combination comprising a shoe having a heel formed with vertical and horizontal grooves therein and a decorative cover for said heel removably applied thereto and provided with complementary ridges adapted to engage the sides of the grooves on said heel to retain the cover in position thereon.

2.'The combination comprising a decorative cover for the heel of a woman's shoe formed with an outer surface free from securing means and an inner surface having releasable securing means thereon and a heel formed with securing means adapted to cooperate with the securing means on the cover, the securing means on the heel being located in recesses therein whereby the heel cover is caused to engage the surface of the heel when applied thereto.

3. The combination comprising a shoe having an unfinished heel provided with retaining means adjacent the shoe upper and other retaining means adjacent the wearing portion of the heel and a finishing cover for the heel extending over substantially the entire surface at the back and sides of the heel and terminating substantially at the top lift and provided on its inner surface with retaining means engaging the retaining means on the heel to permit ready attachment and removal of the cover.

4. The combination comprising a shoe having an unfinished heel formed with a channel adjacent the shoe upper and provided with retaining means located in the lower portion of the heel, and a finishing cover for the heel extending between the shoe upper and the wearing portion of the shoe and terminating substantially at the top lift, said cover having means thereon located on the inner surface of the cover for engaging in the channel at the top of the heel and engaging the retaining means in the lower portion of the heel to prevent displacement of the cover.

5. In combination with a shoe having an uncovered heel with retaining means associated therewith, a preformed finishing cover for said heel formed of resilient material extending about the back and sides thereof terminating above the top-lift and extending into close proximity with the upper of the shoe and complementary retaining means on the inner face of the cover yieldably engaging the means associated with the heel to removably hold the cover in position on the heel.

HOWARD HUFFMAN. 

